Big Head Amusements

21/09/2023

Probably the most relaxing, de-stressing thing for me: filming in the (urban) wild, here at the , with birdies waiting for num-nums in the water, and a very pi**ed off spider.

A trio of stills testing the for my planned Patreon channel reviewing vintage video gear.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CxbVdvsPRQE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

25/07/2023

Don McKellar's LAST NIGHT (1998) is the first review after a long pause at KQEK.com. The film screened at the R***e Cinema for National Canadian Film Day, and alongside the review is the Editor's Blog with a simple explanation (or sorts), and news of a new channel on vintage video gear that's in the works: https://kqek.com/mobile/?p=20743

Don McKellar’s LAST NIGHT (1998) is the first review after a long pause in activities at KQEK.com

17/05/2023

There's still much to do, but here's a small teaser for a planned Patreon-supported channel where I'll review vintage video gear, with assorted test footage, featurettes, and blogs.

I've a ludicrously large collection of gear; it's time to share the glee in using rare, unique, and average consumer, prosumer, and broadcast gear from the late 70s, 80s, and 90s. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CsWtnoqA104/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

30/12/2022

Really good update on how a few U-Matic decks were specifically designed to record digital audio in the early years of CD mastering. I've been reading 1980s issues of Modern Recording, and these decks come up in gear profiles, and composer / producer interviews. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbrCZnAi7gU

In the early days of CD, U-matic video tape was used in the CD mastering process to hold the digital audio data. The PCM1630 was the most capable and so now...

03/12/2022

Frames from a test video that prove a crazy workflow... works, although the trick is a kind of live action animation, using the feature.

It has a set frame rate, which you have to cheat by maintaining slow movements and specific angles that will look great when layered & distorted. Aiming to try for longer held shots and slower movements so the final render lasts more than a few seconds.

Captured in SD, but rendered in 1080p. Hate to see what Fb etc.'s compression does to video of this web of flittering detail.
Old digital point & shoots still have some life to live....

03/12/2022

In praise of Bubble Bokeh...

In this video I nominate my Top 5 Best Worst lenses. Lenses that are poor performers (for various reasons), but actually produce beautiful and sometimes cra...

30/11/2022

Part of prepping for winter 2022-2023 so I've footage to play with in digital or analogue realms inside a warm home - just hitting in with a camera from 2012. Filmed with its setting in very lo-fi SD, and layered and fuzzed up in .

The trick with the setting is Patience - walk & move slowly. You can't control the low frame rate, but can slow down movements to pace the footage. 10 mins. of a slow walk around the park might yield less that 2.5 mins. of actual footage.

You can set the focus point so a rectangular swathe is sharp and the rest is soft, but it's really how you move and angle the camera that makes the footage pop.

This was upres'd to 1920x1080i and pillarboxed, with a 60fps frame rate. Do expect a high degree of mush, as Fb and Instagram aren't kind to lo-fi footage.

15/11/2022

The closing of the Cumberland was very quick - found out the day of, and took some video of its exterior before it was shuttered, partially gutted, and turned into a banal coffee shop. The staffers also shot a video inside on their last day, but that's sadly long gone from Vimeo.

Toronto’s great lost movie theatres, and what we lose when community spaces go dark for the very last time

29/10/2022

Whomever invented the toy camera feature deserves a beer - inarguably my favourite visual extravagance in consumer gear.

Taking an old to in during as the trees were starting to lose peak fall foliage. Fiddled with layers, frame rates, brightness & contrast, and slight colour adjustments. Fb's compression may well turn this into mush, though.

20/07/2022

It's been quite a while since I posted anything to YouTube, and I've been following Fran's channel on unique electronic and now ephemeral films off & on, especially as she's had to deal with assorted issues over the years - new ad scheme, reduced revenues, skewed stats - and like gear repair channel 12voltvids, she's had to deal with copyright trolls who keep slamming content creators with nuisance claims, even if the claim is against something that's been licensed.

YT's new Visual claim is another nasty venue that exposes the channel's ignorance of rights, and why I'm a little hesitant to post anything I've wholly created my self. It's a bit of an edited ramble, but what YT was and has become is pretty awful for content creators. A billion dollar co**se that could spend money on a department designed to mediate and expunge nuisance claims with judicious ferocity... but finds it easier to look away.

One potent point stands out: if media hosting services like Vimeo do eventually gain a billion viewers, would they adopt a similar reaction to nuisance claims, or would they ask the claimants to Prove It?

I guess it makes it worthwhile for any creator to document their steps - from acquiring raw materials, shaping the elements, and the stages towards the final work - and protect themselves against potential hassles. (12volvids did a great piece on fighting trolls, and they know people just don't have the time to keep filing new disputes when the same troll files a new claim hours after their latest was quashed.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qCM9L_FaFU

Here we go again.... and again.... and again.... But with a twist - a new era of trolling awaits for everyone! Is anyone at YouTube listening? Does anyone...

11/07/2022

Modest blog + video in an occasional series of sorts: (Mis)Adventures in Video, Part III: Film School Snapshots & Gary Blakeley’s The Trend (1987) https://bigheadamusements.com/wordpress/?p=3431

07/05/2022

Brilliant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1qj21eBzNc

For now reason at all, I took on the challenge of recreating the Netflix 'ta-dum' intro with YARN! Why? Because I love stop-motion and challenging myself.Ple...

20/04/2022

How to sell a new format should not include a wannabe hit disco tune with lyrics. I assume every participant, including its author, used pseudonyms for this confection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH2Oa3YaVNM&list=WL&index=2

Before we can test this video recorder, we must replace the mains filter capacitor or it will explode. While we are doing that, we can listen to a music Eas...

19/02/2022

Heck of a playroom... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQDjVTpe6Lk&list=WL&index=1

Albert Van Abbe has been releasing gritty, atmospheric techno for over a decade on underground labels like Semantica and his own No Comment imprint, so we fi...

28/01/2022

Short teaser for a new blog series at BHA, focusing on acquired / saved audio & video gear from recyclers, curbsides, and online auctions. https://www.instagram.com/tv/CY9S9xmI3o4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

17/12/2021

It's been a tough year and tougher few months to focus on creative audio & video projects, so amid the awfulness of 2021 and the new variant that for many brings fears of repeating last winter's dumpster fire, for whatever reason, an idea fermented in my brain.

'Do a Christmas album.'

Spoken word, that is.

And in spite of several impossible-to-fend-off stressors, the deed is done: “PROSE & POETRY TO CELEBRATE OR SPIKE CHRISTMAS” which is available on Bandcamp for streaming & purchase.

It'll be followed by a second project in a few months, but hey, if you need a narrator or require voice editing & mixing, feel free to DM.

Special thanks to for the perfect cover art that synthesizes the tonal shifts & humour of pieces by , , and Me.

Please enjoy some distracting nonsense:

https://markrhasan.bandcamp.com/releases